Intense uplift of the Tibetan Plateau in Late Cenozoic Era is one of the most important events in geological history of the Earth. The plateau offers an ideal region for studying of lithospheric formation and evolution, probing into the mechanism of crustal movement, and understanding of changes in environments and geo-ecosystems in Asia. Intense uplift ofthe plateau resulted in drastic changes of natural environment and apparent regional differentiation on the plateau proper and neighboring regions. The plateau therefore becomes a sensitive area of climate change in Asian monsoon region, which is closely related to the global change. As a special physical unit, its ecosystems occupy a prominent position in the world. Due to its extremely high elevation and great extent, natural types and characteristics of physical landscapes on the plateau are quite different from those in lowlands at comparable latitudes, and environments are also different from those in high latitudinal zones. Consequently, the Tibetan Plateau has been classified as one of three giant physical regions in China and considered as a unique unit on Earth. Scientific surveys and expeditions to the Tibetan Plateau on large scale began from 1950's. Amongst them, a number of comprehensive scientific expeditions to the Xizang (Tibet) Autonomous Region, Hengduan Mts. areas, Karakorum and Kunlun Mts. regions, as well as the Hoh Xii Mts. areas, have been successively carried out by the Integrated Scientific Expedition to Tibetan Plateau, sponsored by Chinese Academy of Sciences since 1973."

This book is a valuable resource for the increasing body of researchers and practitioners in the field of geospatial technologies. Written by leading researchers and experts it is designed in such a way that technical achievements and challenges of geospatial computing applications are followed by various applications developed for society. As such, they serve as a bridge between technologists and solution developers, which is critical in the context of developing countries. There have been significant advances in geospatial technologies in India in the last decade, including advances in spatial data infrastructures, geocomputation and spatial databases, and innovative applications in natural resource development. Ranging from LIDAR standards, to data integration using ontologies, and mobile computing, such progress enhances the utility of the technology for both urban and rural development. This book discusses these achievements and considers the way forward.

This book describes a comprehensive framework of novel simulation approaches, conventional urban models, and related data mining techniques that will help develop planning support systems in Beijing as well as other mega-metropolitan areas. It investigates the relationships between human behaviors and spatial patterns in order to simulate activities in an urban space, visualize planning alternatives, and support decision making. The book first explains urban space using geometric patterns, such as points, networks, and polygons, that help identify patterns of household and individual human behavior. Next, it details how novel simulation methodologies, such as cellular automaton and multi-agent systems, and conventional urban modeling, such as spatial interaction models, can be used to identify an optimal or a simulated solution for a better urban form. The book develops a comprehensive land use and transportation integrated model used to explore the spatial patterns of mutual interaction between human mobility and urban space. This model can help forecast the distribution of different types of households, rent prices, and land prices, as well as the distribution of routes and traffic volume based on an appraisal of labor demand and supply. This book shows how geospatial analysis can be a useful tool for planners and decision makers to help in ascertaining patterns of activities and support urban planning. Offering both novel and conventional approaches to urban modeling, it will appeal to researchers, students, and policy makers looking for the optimal way to plan the d evelopment of a mega-metropolitan area.

With this third edition of Open Source GIS: A GRASS GIS Approach, we enter the new era of GRASS6, the first release that includes substantial new code developed by the International GRASS Development Team. The dramatic growth in open source software libraries has made the GRASS6 development more efficient, and has enhanced GRASS interoperability with a wide range of open source and proprietary geospatial tools.

Thoroughly updated with material related to the GRASS6, the third edition includes new sections on attribute database management and SQL support, vector networks analysis, lidar data processing and new graphical user interfaces. All chapters were updated with numerous practical examples using the first release of a comprehensive, state-of-the-art geospatial data set.

Open Source GIS: A GRASS GIS Approach (third edition) preserves the continuity of previous editions by maintaining the proven booka (TM)s structure and continues to target a professional audience composed of researchers and practitioners in government and industry as well as graduate students interested in geospatial analysis and modeling.

A variety of biophysical applications (e.g. leaf area index and evapotranspiration) have been derived from using remote sensing methods as for example from NASA s MODIS sensors and other satellite platforms. In Biophysical Applications of Satellite Remote Sensing the authors thoroughly describe the major applications of satellite remote sensing for studying earth's biophysical phenomena. Starting with an introductory and historical overview of the biophysical applications of satellite remote sensing the book provides a comprehensive background and reference base for researchers and newcomers to the field. The focus of the book lies on the broad palette of specific applications (metrics) of biophysical activity derived using satellite remote sensing. Each type of application is described and its use discussed in detail; this includes the theoretical background and methodology, validation efforts by using in-situ observations and major scientific findings associated with each application. With its in-depth discussions of satellite-derived biophysical metrics with an emphasis on theory, methodology, validation, major findings and directions of future research, this book provides an excellent resource for remote sensing specialists, ecologists, geographers, biologists, climatologists and environmental scientists.

This book reports on developments in Proximal Soil Sensing (PSS) and high resolution digital soil mapping. PSS has become a multidisciplinary area of study that aims to develop field-based techniques for collecting information on the soil from close by, or within, the soil. Amongst others, PSS involves the use of optical, geophysical, electrochemical, mathematical and statistical methods. This volume, suitable for undergraduate course material and postgraduate research, brings together ideas and examples from those developing and using proximal sensors and high resolution digital soil maps for applications such as precision agriculture, soil contamination, archaeology, peri-urban design and high land-value applications, where there is a particular need for high spatial resolution information. The book in particular covers soil sensor sampling, proximal soil sensor development and use, sensor calibrations, prediction methods for large data sets, applications of proximal soil sensing, and high-resolution digital soil mapping.

Key themes: soil sensor sampling - soil sensor calibrations - spatial prediction methods - reflectance spectroscopy - electromagnetic induction and electrical resistivity - radar and gamma radiometrics - multi-sensor platforms - high resolution digital soil mapping - applications

Raphael A. Viscarra Rossel is a scientist at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) of Australia.

Alex McBratney is Pro-Dean and Professor of Soil Science in the Faculty of Agriculture Food & Natural Resources at the University of Sydney in Australia.

Budiman Minasny is a Senior Research Fellow in the Faculty of Agriculture Food & Natural Resources at the University of Sydney in Australia.

These Proceedings present selected research papers from CSNC2016, held during 18th-20th May in Changsha, China. The theme of CSNC2016 is Smart Sensing, Smart Perception. These papers discuss the technologies and applications of the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), and the latest progress made in the China BeiDou System (BDS) especially. They are divided into 12 topics to match the corresponding sessions in CSNC2016, which broadly covered key topics in GNSS. Readers can learn about the BDS and keep abreast of the latest advances in GNSS techniques and applications.

GPS Tracking with Java EE Components: Challenges of Connected Cars highlights how the self-driving car is actually changing the automotive industry, from programing embedded software to hosting services and data crunching, in real time, with really big data. The book analyzes how the challenges of the Self Driving Car (SDC) exceed the limits of a classical GPS Tracking System (GTS.) It provides a guidebook on setting up a tracking system by customizing its components. It also provides an overview of the prototyping and modeling process, and how the reader can modify this process for his or her own software. Every component is introduced in detail and includes a number of design decisions for development. The book introduces Java EE (JEE) Modules, and shows how they can be combined to a customizable GTS, and used as seed components to enrich existing systems with live tracking. The book also explores how to merge tracking and mapping to guide SDCs, and focuses on client server programming to provide useful information. It also discusses the challenges involved with the live coordination of moving cars. This book is designed to aid GTS developers and engineers in the automotive industry. It can also help Java Developers, not only interested in GPS Tracking, but in modern software design from many individual modules. Source code and sample applications will be available on the book's website.

This book covers fundamental aspects of spatial data modelling specifically on the aspect of three-dimensional (3D) modelling and structuring. Realisation of "true" 3D GIS spatial system needs a lot of effort, and the process is taking place in various research centres and universities in some countries. The development of spatial data modelling for 3D objects is the focus of this book.

Computing increasingly happens "somewhere," with that geographic location important to the computational process itself. Many new and evolving spatial technologies, such as geosensor networks and smartphones, embody this trend. Conventional approaches to spatial computing are centralized, and do not account for the inherently decentralized nature of "computing somewhere": the limited, local knowledge of individual system components, and the interaction between those components at different locations. On the other hand, despite being an established topic in distributed systems, decentralized computing is not concerned with geographical constraints to the generation and movement of information. In this context, of (centralized) spatial computing and decentralized (non-spatial) computing, the key question becomes: "What makes decentralized spatial computing special?"
In Part I of the book the author covers the foundational concepts, structures, and design techniques for decentralized computing with spatial and spatiotemporal information. In Part II he applies those concepts and techniques to the development of algorithms for decentralized spatial computing, stepping through a suite of increasingly sophisticated algorithms: from algorithms with minimal spatial information about their neighborhoods; to algorithms with access to more detailed spatial information, such as direction, distance, or coordinate location; to truly spatiotemporal algorithms that monitor environments that are dynamic, even using networks that are mobile or volatile. Finally, in Part III the author shows how decentralized spatial and spatiotemporal algorithms designed using the techniques explored in Part II can be simulated and tested. In particular, he investigates empirically the important properties of a decentralized spatial algorithm: its computational efficiency and its robustness to unavoidable uncertainty. Part III concludes with a survey of the opportunities for connecting decentralized spatial computing to ongoing research and emerging hot topics in related fields, such as biologically inspired computing, geovisualization, and stream computing.
The book is written for students and researchers of computer science and geographic information science. Throughout the book the author's style is characterized by a focus on the broader message, explaining the process of decentralized spatial algorithm design rather than the technical details. Each chapter ends with review questions designed to test the reader's understanding of the material and to point to further work or research. The book includes short appendices on discrete mathematics and SQL. Simulation models written in NetLogo and associated source code for all the algorithms presented in the book can be found on the author's accompanying website.

One of the most visited places in the world, Rome attracts millions of tourists each year to walk its storied streets and see famous sites like the Colosseum, St. Peter's Basilica, and the Trevi Fountain. Yet this ancient city's allure is due as much to its rich, unbroken history as to its extraordinary array of landmarks. Countless incarnations and eras merge in the Roman cityscape. With a history spanning nearly three millennia, no other place can quite match the resilience and reinventions of the aptly nicknamed Eternal City. In this unique and visually engaging book, Jessica Maier considers Rome through the eyes of mapmakers and artists who have managed to capture something of its essence over the centuries. Viewing the city as not one but ten "Romes," she explores how the varying maps and art reflect each era's key themes. Ranging from modest to magnificent, the images comprise singular aesthetic monuments like paintings and grand prints as well as more popular and practical items like mass-produced tourist plans, archaeological surveys, and digitizations. The most iconic and important images of the city appear alongside relatively obscure, unassuming items that have just as much to teach us about Rome's past. Through 140 full-color images and thoughtful overviews of each era, Maier provides an accessible, comprehensive look at Rome's many overlapping layers of history in this landmark volume. The first book ever published in English to tell Rome's rich story through its maps, The Eternal City beautifully captures the past, present, and future of one of the most famous and enduring places on the planet.

This book provides an extensive review of three interrelated issues: land fragmentation, land consolidation, and land reallocation, and it presents in detail the theoretical background, design, development and application of a prototype integrated planning and decision support system for land consolidation. The system integrates geographic information systems (GIS) and artificial intelligence techniques including expert systems (ES) and genetic algorithms (GAs) with multi-criteria decision methods (MCDM), both multi-attribute (MADM) and multi-objective (MODM). The system is based on four modules for measuring land fragmentation; automatically generating alternative land redistribution plans; evaluating those plans; and automatically designing the land partitioning plan. The presented research provides a new scientific framework for land-consolidation planning both in terms of theory and practice, by presenting new findings and by developing better tools and methods embedded in an integrated GIS environment. It also makes a valuable contribution to the fields of GIS and spatial planning, as it provides new methods and ideas that could be applied to improve the former for the benefit of the latter in the context of planning support systems.

From the 1960s, ambitious research activities set out to observe regarding IT-support of the complex and time consuming redistribution processes within land consolidation without any practically relevant results, until now. This scientific work is likely to close that gap. This distinguished publication is highly recommended to land consolidation planning experts, researchers and academics alike.

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Joachim Thomas, Munster/ Germany
"Planning support systems take new scientific tools based on GIS, optimisation and simulation and use these to inform the process of plan-making and policy. This book is one of the first to show how this can be consistently done and it is a triumph of demonstrating how such systems can be made operational. Essential reading for planners, analysts and GI scientists."

Prof. Michael Batty, University College London"

Central Asia is a large and understudied region of varied geography, ranging from the high passes and mountains of Tian Shan, to the vast deserts of Kyzyl Kum, Taklamakan to the grassy treeles steppes. This region is faced with adverse conditions, as much of the land is too dry or rugged for farming. Additionally, the rich specific and intraspecific diversity of fruit trees and medicinal plants is threatened by overgrazing, oil and mineral extraction, and poaching. Countless species from the approximately 20 ecosystems and 6000 plant taxa are now rare and endangered. Traditional vegetation studies in this region are far from adequate to handle complex issues such as soil mass movement, soil sodicity and salinity, biodiversity conservation, and grazing management. However, data analysis using a Geographical Information System (GIS) tool provides new insights into the vegetation of this region and opens up new opportunities for long-term sustainable management. While vegetation planning can occur at a property scale, it is often necessary for certain factors, such as salinity, to be dealt with on a regional scale to ensure their effective management. GIS increases the effectiveness and accuracy of vegetation planning in a region. Such regional planning will also greatly increases biodiversity values. This book systematically explores these issues and discuses new applications and approaches for overcoming these issues, including the application of GIS techniques for sustainable management and planning. Professional researchers as well as students and teachers of agriculture and ecology will find this volume to be an integral resource for studying the vegetation of Central Asia.

Based on the IV Hotine-Marussi Symposium held in Trento, the volume covers three important topics: boundary value problems, satellite geodesy and stochastic methods in geodesy. The first part deals with boundary value problems which are tackled from both the theoretical and the numerical point of view. The part on satellite geodesy deals with the simulation of the GOCE mission, the integration of satellite gradiometry and airborne gravity for gravity-filed recovery, satellite-to-satellite tracking and orbit sensitivity analysis. Various applied and theoretical contributions are devoted to the stochastic methods applied to geodesy. The book presents the state-of-the-art of the main topics in the theoretical and methodological aspects of geodesy.

This book is the first to document in depth the history of lunar and planetary cartography in Russia. The first map of the far side of the Moon was made with the participation of Lomonosov Moscow University (Sternberg Astronomical Institute, MSU) in 1960. The developed mapping technologies were then used in preparing the "Complete Map of the Moon" in 1967 as well as other maps and globes. Over the years, various maps of Mars have emerged from the special course "Mapping of extraterrestrial objects" in the MSU Geography Department, including the hypsometric map of Mars at a scale of 1:26,000,000, compiled by J.A. Ilyukhina and published in 2004 in an edition of 5,000 copies. A more detailed version of this map has since been produced with a new hypsometric scale. In addition, maps of the northern and southern hemispheres of Mars have been compiled for the hypsometric globe of Mars. Relief maps of Venus were made in 2008, 2010, and 2011, and hypsometric maps of Phobos and Deimos at a scale of 1:60,000 were published in 2011. History of Lunar and Planetary Cartography in Russia provides detailed information on the compilation of this diverse range of maps and will be of interest to all lunar and planetary cartographers.

How does one determine how similar two maps are? This book aims at the theory of spatial similarity relations and its application in automated map generalization, including the definitions, classification and features of spatial similarity relations. Included also are calculation models of spatial similarity relations between arbitrary individual objects and between arbitrary object groups, and the application of the theory in the automation of the algorithms and procedures in map generalization.

These Proceedings present selected research papers from CSNC2016, held during 18th-20th May in Changsha, China. The theme of CSNC2016 is Smart Sensing, Smart Perception. These papers discuss the technologies and applications of the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), and the latest progress made in the China BeiDou System (BDS) especially. They are divided into 12 topics to match the corresponding sessions in CSNC2016, which broadly covered key topics in GNSS. Readers can learn about the BDS and keep abreast of the latest advances in GNSS techniques and applications.

The book is an introduction to practical astrometry, dealing with the determination of positions, motions, distances and dimensions of celestial bodies ranging from quasars to artificial satellites. The main part is devoted to the description of instruments and observing techniques, and also includes the basic properties of optical instruments and a detailed description of the atmospheric effects on observations. A brief summary of the main phenomena in positional astronomy and of data treatment is given. Although classical astrometric methods are described, emphasis is put on new, more precise techniques such as CCD, optical and radio interferometry, space astrometry, etc. For this 2nd edition, the release of the Hipparcos and Tycho catalogs, the rise in CCD astrometry and the adoption of a new celestial reference frame by the IAU led to a significant modification of the text. And, especially, the outlook for astrometry has been completely rewritten.

A significant part of understanding how people use geographic information and technology concerns human cognition. This book provides the first comprehensive in-depth examination of the cognitive aspects of human-computer interaction for geographic information systems (GIS). Cognitive aspects are treated in relation to individual, group, behavioral, institutional, and cultural perspectives. Extensions of GIS in the form of spatial decision support systems and SDSS for groups are part of the geographic information technology considered. Audience: Geographic information users, systems analysts and system designers, researchers in human-computer interaction will find this book an information resource for understanding cognitive aspects of geographic information technology use, and the methods appropriate for examining this use.

Neural nets offer a new strategy for spatial analysis, and their application holds enormous potential for the geographic sciences. However, the number of studies that have utilized these techniques is limited. This lack of interest can be attributed, in part, to lack of exposure, to the use of extensive and often confusing jargon, and to the misapprehension that, without an underlying statistical model, the explanatory power of the neural net is very low. This text attacks all three issues, demonstrating a wide variety of neural net applications in geography in a simple manner, with minimal jargon. The volume presents an introduction to neural nets that describes some of the basic concepts, as well as providing a more mathematical treatise for those wanting further details on neural net architecture. The bulk of the text, however, is devoted to descriptions of neural net applications in such broad-ranging fields as census analysis, predicting the spread of AIDS, describing synoptic controls on mountain snowfall, examining the relationships between atmospheric circulation and tropical rainfall, and the remote sensing of polar cloud and sea ice characteristics. The text illustrates neural nets employed in modes analogous to multiple regression analysis, cluster analysis, and maximum likelihood classification. Not only are the neural nets shown to be equal or superior to these more conventional methods, particularly where the relationships have a strong nonlinear component, but they are also shown to contain significant explanatory power. Several chapters demonstrate that the nets themselves can be decomposed to illuminate causative linkages between different events in both the physical and human environments.

The combined observational power of the multiple earth observing satellites is currently not being harnessed holistically to produce more durable societal benefits. We are not able to take complete advantage of the prolific amount of scientific output and remote sensing data that are emerging rapidly from satellite missions and convert them quickly into decision-making products for users. The current application framework we have appears to be an analog one lacking the absorption bandwidth required to handle scientific research and the voluminous (petabyte-scale) satellite data. This book will tackle this question: "How do we change this course and take full advantage of satellite observational capability for a more sustainable, happier and safer future in the coming decades?"

We need new maps is the central claim made in this book. In a world increasingly influenced by human action and interaction, we still rely heavily on mapping techniques that were invented to discover unknown places and explore our physical environment. Although the traditional concept of a map is currently being revived in digital environments, the underlying mapping approaches are not capable of making the complexity of human-environment relationships fully comprehensible. Starting from how people can be put on the map in new ways, this book outlines the development of a novel technique that stretches a map according to quantitative data, such as population. The new maps are called gridded cartograms as the method is based on a grid onto which a density-equalising cartogram technique is applied. The underlying grid ensures the preservation of an accurate geographic reference to the real world. It allows the gridded cartograms to be used as basemaps onto which other information can be mapped. This applies to any geographic information from the human and physical environment. As demonstrated through the examples presented in this book, the new maps are not limited to showing population as a defining element for the transformation, but can show any quantitative geospatial data, such as wealth, rainfall, or even the environmental conditions of the oceans. The new maps also work at various scales, from a global perspective down to the scale of urban environments. The gridded cartogram technique is proposed as a new global and local map projection that is a viable and versatile alternative to other conventional map projections. The maps based on this technique open up a wide range of potential new applications to rediscover the diverse geographies of the world. They have the potential to allow us to gain new perspectives through detailed cartographic depictions.

This book explores the impact of augmenting novel architectural designs with hardware-based application accelerators. The text covers comprehensive aspects of the applications in Geographic Information Science, remote sensing and deploying Modern Accelerator Technologies (MAT) for geospatial simulations and spatiotemporal analytics. MAT in GIS applications, MAT in remotely sensed data processing and analysis, heterogeneous processors, many-core and highly multi-threaded processors and general purpose processors are also presented. This book includes case studies and closes with a chapter on future trends. Modern Accelerator Technologies for GIS is a reference book for practitioners and researchers working in geographical information systems and related fields. Advanced-level students in geography, computational science, computer science and engineering will also find this book useful.